In 2022, the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people led an archaeological excavation of one of the Sunbury earth rings, known as Sunbury Ring G, located on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. This earth ring, constructed between 590 and 1,400 years ago, represents a connection to the ancient cultural practices of Aboriginal communities in Victoria. The study, published in the journal Australian Archaeology, is the first to combine cultural and archaeological insights on earth rings in Australia.
Sunbury Ring G is one of five earth rings situated on Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country in the suburb of Sunbury, Victoria. These rings rise mysteriously out of the hills, not as natural phenomena but as large-scale feats of human endeavor. They symbolize secret and sacred locations of ceremonial events for different Aboriginal groups. People created these rings hundreds to thousands of years ago by excavating and heaping together earth in large circles measuring up to hundreds of meters in diameter, according to Australian Geographic.
The excavation revealed that the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people carefully cleared land and plants, scraped back soil and rock to create the ring mound, and layered rocks to create stone arrangements. Researchers found evidence that they lit campfires and made stone tools, which they used on various plants and animals, and moved items around the ring's interior. Wear patterns and residues on some stone artifacts suggest that Woi-wurrung speaking people used these stone tools to create feather adornments and scar human skin during ceremonies, as noted by Live Science.
The landscape where Sunbury Ring G is located is a highly important location between the traditional lands of the Marin bulluk and Wurundjeri wilam clans of Woi-wurrung speaking people, separated by biik wurrdha (also known as Jacksons Creek).
Hundreds of earth rings are believed to have once existed across Australia, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland. However, many were destroyed following European colonization and land development, leaving only around 100 remaining today, according to Australian Geographic.
To date, no other excavation of an earth ring is known in Australia. The Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people led the dating and re-analysis of the 166 stone artifacts found during the 1979 excavations by archaeologist David Frankel. In 2021–22, they also led the first cultural values study of the broader landscape that encompasses the five Sunbury earth rings. The Narrap team is currently working to restore and preserve the health of this important cultural landscape, which is culturally important to the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people.
"While previous studies indicate these rings are sacred locations of ceremony, little is documented from cultural values and landscape perspectives—particularly in southeastern Australia," scientists wrote, according to The Independent. "While memory of the purpose of the Sunbury Rings has faded, a deep understanding of the cultural values of the landscape in which they are embedded has been passed down through successive generations of Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people."
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq